How to write a joke for President Obama

How to write a joke for President Obama

Author: Vox March 21, 2018 Duration: 57:34
How do you write a joke for the president of the United States? How do you come up with something that will seem perfectly cutting but not too cruel, silly but not stupid? How do you not denigrate the highest office in the land with — sniff — comedy? Those were all questions David Litt, a speechwriter for President Obama and one of the folks most instrumental to Obama’s comedy monologues at the White House Correspondents Dinner, had to face when he worked in the White House. And after he left, he wrote his memoir Thanks, Obama: My Hopey, Changey White House Years, a whole book about his time working for the president, complete with lots of advice on how to write jokes for the president. Todd talks with Litt this week about the strengths and limitations of political comedy, the joke he wrote for Obama that he’s most proud of, and the similarities between working at the White House and his new gig at Funny or Die. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every Thursday, Vox’s critic-at-large Emily VanDerWerff sits down for a conversation that goes beyond the usual promotional chatter. The I Think You're Interesting podcast is built on the premise that the people who make the movies, TV shows, and art we love have fascinating stories and creative processes worth exploring in detail. These are frank, uncensored talks with a wide range of guests-from household names to emerging talents and essential behind-the-scenes figures-all of whom have shaped the current landscape of entertainment and pop culture. You’ll hear them discuss not just their latest project, but the influences and inspirations that fuel their work, the pivotal moments in their careers, and the ideas they can’t stop thinking about. It’s a series of deep dives into the minds of interesting people, hosted by someone who knows how to ask the questions that get to the heart of why they do what they do. This isn't about reviews or hot takes; it's about the human element behind the art we consume. Each episode feels like eavesdropping on a great, meandering conversation between two people genuinely engaged in figuring out what makes creativity tick, all delivered with the thoughtful perspective you expect from Vox.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

I Think You're Interesting
Podcast Episodes
How Neko Case writes her beautiful, brilliant songs [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:13
Neko Case’s nearly 20-year career has been marked by some of the best songs of that time frame, chronicles of a country and world that often seem to be plunging into chaos but always manage to just avoid doing so. Her so…
Inside the world’s best true-crime podcast [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:55
Call the APM Reports production In the Dark a “true crime" podcast, and everybody involved in it will bristle, just a bit. Yes, it starts from the place of exploring crimes that really happened. But it’s not interested i…
Stand-up Hari Kondabolu is so much more than The Problem with Apu [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:50
Hari Kondabolu identified a problem. His self-hosted, self-produced 2017 documentary, The Problem With Apu, which aired on TruTV, discusses how The Simpsons character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon created a caricature of South…
Aisha Tyler on Archer, standup comedy, and being Aisha Tyler [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:36
Does Aisha Tyler sleep? That’s a question you might reasonably ask after looking at her IMDb page for a moment or two. She’s a regular on two TV shows — FXX’s Archer and CBS’s Criminal Minds — while also hosting Unapolog…
The Americans' showrunners and star bid farewell to TV's best show [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:33
If you've listened to this show ever, or read anything Todd has ever written, then you know The Americans is one of his favorite shows of the past several years. Last night, it ended. For this special episode of the show…